Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Hurryupslowdown

Talking to reporters in Washington on Monday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the U.S. administration "very clearly and directly" supports the [Iranian] protesters.

"What we see happening in Iran today is a testament to the courage of Iranian people and an indictment of hypocrisy of the Iranian regime--a regime which over the last three weeks has constantly hailed what went on in Egypt and now, when given the opportunity to afford their people the same rights as they called for on behalf of the Egyptian people, once again illustrate their true nature," she said. --RTT, Feb. 15

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton warned on Sunday that removing President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt too hastily could threaten the country’s transition to democracy. ...

Citing the Egyptian Constitution, Mrs. Clinton said that if Mr. Mubarak stepped down now, Egypt would have to hold elections for a new president in 60 days — too little time for the government or the opposition to organize a credible vote.

Her comments, made to reporters on the way home from a conference in Munich, echo what administration officials have said privately and some of what the White House’s temporary diplomatic emissary to Cairo, Frank G. Wisner, said publicly on Sunday: Mr. Mubarak is likely to remain in the picture, at least a while longer. --The New York Times, Feb. 6

Maybe I'm being unfair here. But, hey, it's my blog. It's pretty clear, though, that Clinton and Wisner were actively trying to throw cold water on the uprising in Egypt. So she might want to cool it on the "hypocritical" accusations.